Kwak Yeon-soo is a digital editor at The Korea Times creating, editing and curating digital content for the newspaper’s website, mobile app and social media. She previously covered a diverse array of cultural, political and business topics.
INTERVIEW Lee Sun-kyun says he's never encountered film like 'Killing Romance'
Actor Lee Sun-kyun / Courtesy of Lotte Entertainment
By Kwak Yeon-soo
By Kwak Yeon-soo
Lee Sun-kyun, known for his intensity in “My Mister” (2018) and “Parasite” (2019), has made his biggest transformation in “Killing Romance,” an absurdist film blending fantasy, comedy, family drama and musicals.
“Killing Romance” follows the story of actress Hwang Yeo-rae (Lee Ha-nee) who marries a self-obsessed chaebol executive named Jonathan Na (Lee Sun-kyun) and retires from acting. During her seven-year marriage, Hwang experiences physical and emotional abuse at the hands of her manipulative husband who controls her eating habits and forces her to “just smile” all the time.
After he blocks her attempt to return to acting, she decides to kill him with the help of her next-door neighbor Beom-woo (Gong Myung), who happens to be her hardcore fan.
Lee recalled the script for “Killing Romance” was so weird that he initially wanted to turn down the role.
“The script was funny, silly and experimental. I was curious how director Lee Won-suk would keep pace with the frenetic storytelling, and I heard Ha-nee already signed on to the film. So the two convinced me to accept Jonathan's role,” he said during a recent interview with The Korea Times.
Actor Lee Sun-kyun in a scene from the film “Killing Romance” / Courtesy of Lotte Entertainment
Lee said he became best friends with the director, adding that he came up with a lot of ideas. “Whenever I portray a character, I always to look for plausibility. But Jonathan is unpredictable and unreasonable. So I could do whatever I wanted with the character, which was quite liberating,” he said.
For the role, the 48-year-old actor wore hair extensions for four months and tried smoky eyeliner makeup and a mustache.
“Jonathan is a narcissist and lacks empathy. He's like a cartoon character. So I relied on my imagination instead of taking inspiration from other real-life characters,” he said. “I had fun filming 'Killing Romance.' It was like presenting a masque. I've never encountered a character like Jonathan, so I tried to enjoy every moment.”
The film has abrupt scene transitions that involve song and dance routines. It plays old school K-pop songs like H.O.T's “Happiness” and Rain's “Rainism.” On singing “Happiness,” Jonathan's theme song, Lee said, “That was fun. I think it clearly shows Jonathan's obsession with being happy all the time, and how that makes people around him feel miserable.”
“Killing Romance” is currently playing in local theaters.